So much for slowly working Christian McCaffrey into the mix.

Playing in his first game since Feb. 11, McCaffrey had 19 touches for 107 yards (13 carries for 39 yards, six receptions for 68 yards) in the 49ers’ 23-20 win over the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

McCaffrey hadn’t played since the Super Bowl in Las Vegas while battling a stubborn case of Achilles tendinitis. His recovery took him to Germany and back. A practice warrior since he arrived in 2022, McCaffrey for the most part has been a reluctant spectator during the offseason, training camp and the first eight games of the regular season.

“I’m just happy I’m here, man,” McCaffrey said at the postgame podium. “That was a long journey and a lot of long days. It feels good to win, and it feels good to just play in a football game again.”Playing in his first game since Feb. 11, McCaffrey had 19 touches for 107 yards (13 carries for 39 yards, six receptions for 68 yards) in the 49ers’ 23-20 win over the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday.

McCaffrey’s 19 touches were only slightly below his average of 21.2 a year ago. The men who replaced McCaffrey in his absence, Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo, got one carry each.

Coach Kyle Shanahan went in with the idea of limiting McCaffrey somewhat. The first time McCaffrey came out, he looked perturbed, and he wound up missing just six snaps in the first half. In the second half, he missed all of two more.

Shanahan clearly doesn’t understand the concept of “load management,” and admitted as much afterward.

“In the second half it got away from us a little bit,” Shanahan said. “He didn’t need to be taken out. We talked to him, he felt great. Going to be pumped to have him back next week.”

In McCaffrey’s absence, Mason and Guerendo had caught 14 passes in eight games. As good as McCaffrey is as a runner — and he led the NFL with 1,459 yards rushing in 2023 — his ability as a receiver is what sets him apart.

McCaffrey’s biggest play came with 8:55 left and the 49ers trailing 17-13. He circled out of the backfield to the right sideline as Brock Purdy was being pressured and hauled in a 30-yard pass to the Bucs’ 23-yard line. It helped set up George Kittle for an off-schedule 11-yard touchdown catch from Purdy for a 20-17 lead.

“It was a great throw,” McCaffrey said. “He had pressure in his face, I guess, and it was a perfectly thrown ball. It’s not easy to put touch on it, to understand where I’m at on the field, and he was able to put it there. That was a good play.”

Even with McCaffrey back, the 49ers didn’t score on their first two red zone opportunities — although on one of them he was on the sidelines after Purdy had taken a sack. The 49ers’ point total (23) was a modest one, in part because Jake Moody missed three field goals before connecting from 44 yards on the game-winner.

Purdy, however, felt McCaffrey’s impact was obvious. McCaffrey’s presence helped Jauan Jennings (seven receptions, 93 yards) and Ricky Pearsall Jr. (four receptions, 73 yards, one touchdown) and created issues for the Tampa Bay defense.

Jennings and Pearsall had 40 yards on four completions on the 49ers’ game-winning drive, and to Purdy, it was no coincidence McCaffrey was on the field at the time.

“We had multiple plays with him the backfield throwing the ball,” Purdy said. “Defenses have to scheme that up, which can open it up for some other guys.”